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THE  RULES  AND  BY-LAWS 


OP    THE 


Boarb  of  ©Deraecre  of  fyatvaxb  ^allege 


TO    WHICH    IS    APPENDED 


THE  COLLEGE  CHASTER 


WITH 


SUNDRY   ACTS   AND   INSTRUMENTS   RELATING   TO   THE 

ELECTION,    POWERS,    AND    DUTIES 

OF  THE   OVERSEERS 


CAMBRIDGE,    MASS. 

publfsbefc  bs  tbe  *ani\>erstt£ 

1909 


In  Board  of  Overseers  of  Harvard  College, 
February  25,  1869. 

Resolved,  That  the  Rules  and  By-Laws  of  the  Board  of  Overseers  as 
they  now  stand  be  printed,  and  be  bound  up  in  the  existing  books  of 
the  Rules,  By-Laws,  Charter,  and  other  Acts  and  Instruments  relating 
to  the  powers  and  duties  of  the  Overseers,  in  place  of  the  Rules  and 
By-Laws  and  their  Amendments  now  in  such  books,  being  the  first 
eighteen  pages  of  said  books,  and  the  Amendments  to  the  same. 

Attest : 

NATHANIEL   B.   SHURTLEFF, 

Secretary. 

In  Board  of  Overseers  of  Harvard  College, 
November  20,  1889. 

Voted,  That  the  Secretary  be  requested  to  have  printed  a  new 
edition  of  the  Rules  and  By-Laws  of  the  Board. 

Attest : 

ALEXANDER  McKENZIE, 

Secretary. 

In  Board  of  Overseers  of  Harvard  College, 
November  19,  1902. 

Voted,  That  the  Secretary  of  the  Board  be  instructed  to  prepare  a 
new  and  revised  edition  of  the  Rules  and  By-Laws  of  the  Board,  and 
cause  the  same  to  be  printed,  and  a  copy  sent  to  each  member. 

Attest : 

WINTHROP   H.   WADE, 

Secretary. 

In  Board  of  Overseers  of  Harvard  College, 

January  13,  1909. 

Voted,  That  the  Secretary  of  the  Board  be  instructed  to  prepare  a 
new  and  revised  edition  of  the  Rules  and  By-Laws  of  the  Board,  and 
cause  the  same  to  be  printed,  and  a  copy  sent  to  each  member. 

Attest: 

WINTHROP  H.   WADE, 

Secretary. 


RULES  AND  BY-LAWS 


OF    THE 


OVERSEERS  OF  HARVARD  COLLEGE 


c 


OFFICERS 

Section    1.  —  The    officers    of    the    Board    shall    be   a 
President  and  Secretary. 

Sect.  2.  —  The  President  shall  be  elected  by  ballot, 
at  each  annual  meeting;  and  shall  hold  his  office  for  one 
year,  and  until  his  successor  is  chosen,  if  he  so  long  con- 
tinues a  member  of  the  Board.  When  a  vacancy  exists 
at  any  other  time,  it  shall  be  filled  for  the  remainder  of 
the  term.  In  the  absence  of  the  President,  a  president 
^pro  tempore  shall  be  chosen  by  ballot. 

Sect.   3.  —  The  Secretary,  who  may  or  may  not  be  a 

/member  of  the  Board,  shall  be  elected  by  ballot  at    the 

^annual   meeting  in   the   year    1868,   and   every   third  year 

V  thereafter,  and  shall  hold  his  office  for  the  term  of  three 

-years,    and    until    his    successor   is    elected    and    qualified. 

When   a   vacancy   occurs   at   any   other   time,   it   shall   be 

i  filled  by  election  for  the  remainder  of  the  term.     In  the . 

absence  of  the  Secretary,  a  secretary  pro  tempore  shall  be 

6/3 

chosen. 


282533 


4  RULES    AND    BY-LAWS 

MEETINGS 

Section  4.  —  The  annual  meeting  of  the  Overseers 
shall  be  held  in  Boston  on  the  last  Wednesday  of  Sep- 
tember. The  other  stated  meetings  shall  be  held  at 
Cambridge  on  Commencement  Day,  and  at  Boston  on 
the  second  Wednesdays  of  January,  April,  May,  October, 
December,  and  on  the  last  Wednesday  of  February  in  each 
year,  at  some  central  place  to  be  selected  by  the  Secretary, 
unless  designated  by  the  Board.  Special  meetings  will  be 
convened  upon  application  made  to  the  Secretary,  in  writing, 
by  the  President  of  the  Board,  by  the  President  or  President 
and  Fellows  of  the  College,  or  by  seven  or  more  Overseers, 
setting  forth  the  object  of  the  meeting,  its  time  and  its  place, 
either  in  Cambridge  or  Boston.  Meetings  may  be  held  by 
adjournment  at  such  times  and  places  as  the  Board  shall 
order. 

Sect.  5.  —  Notice  of  all  meetings  of  the  Board  shall 
be  given  by  the  Secretary,  or  in  case  of  his  absence, 
inability,  or  neglect,  or  of  a  vacancy  in  the  office,  by  the 
President;  the  notification  of  the  meeting  to  specify  its 
time  and  place,  and,  if  a  special  one,  its  object;  and  to  be 
mailed  to  the  address  of  each  member  at  least  seven  days 
before  the  time  of  the  meeting.  Provided,  that  in  the  case 
of  a  special  meeting,  alleged  in  the  application  therefor  to 
be  one  of  great  urgency,  notice  will  be  sufficient  if  mailed 
four  days  before  the  same.  And  provided  further,  that 
when  the  Board  adjourns  to  a  certain  day  the  Secretary, 


RULES   AND    BY-LAWS  5 

or  in  case  of  his  inability  the  President,  shall  mail  a  notice 
of  such  adjourned  meeting  to  each  member  of  the 
Board. 

Sect.  6.  —  The  votes  and  proceedings  of  the  Overseers, 
with  the  names  of  the  members  present  at  each  meeting, 
shall  be  recorded;  and  the  record  shall  be  produced  by 
the  Secretary  at  the  Overseers'  meetings.  At  the  open- 
ing of  every  meeting  the  journal  of  the  preceding  meeting 
shall  be  read  by  the  Secretary,  unless  otherwise  ordered. 

Sect.  7.  —  The  Secretary  shall  have  a  list  of  the  Over- 
seers ready  to  be  produced  at  any  meeting.  He  shall  also 
acquaint  the  presiding  officer,  in  writing,  what  Committees 
have  not  reported,  and  what  business  is  by  assignment  to 
come  before  the  Board. 

Sect.  8.  —  A  quorum  of  not  less  than  nine  members 
shall  be  requisite  for  the  transaction  of  any  business,  except 
adjourning,  or  obtaining  the  attendance  of  members. 

Sect.  9.  —  There  shall  always  be  presented  an  attested 
copy  of  such  votes  of  the  Corporation  as  are  laid  before 
the  Overseers  for  their  confirmation;  and  the  Secretary 
shall,  from  time  to  time,  and  as  soon  as  conveniently  may 
be,  deliver  to  the  President  of  the  University  an  attested 
copy  of  the  votes  of  the  Overseers,  to  be  by  him  communi- 
cated to  the  Corporation. 

Sect.  10.  —  The  Overseers  will  not  receive  any  votes 
from  the  Corporation  as  to  giving  degrees  on  Commence- 


6  RULES    AND    BY-LAWS 

ment  Day,  except  such  as  shall  be  presented  before  ten 
o'clock  in  the  forenoon  of  that  day;  and  the  grounds  and 
reasons  of  the  Corporation  for  conferring  occasional  degrees 
shall  be  laid  before  the  Overseers. 

Sect.  11.  —  When  the  consent  of  the  Overseers  shall 
be  asked  to  a  vote  of  the  Corporation  electing  any  person 
to  be  a  member  of  the  Corporation,  an  officer  of  instruction 
or  government,  or  a  lecturer  in  the  University,  or  conferring 
on  any  person  an  honorary  degree,  the  vote  shall  be  taken 
as  it  is  taken  on  other  questions  unless  some  member  shall 
ask  that  a  ballot  be  had,  in  which  case  the  decision  shall  be 
by  ballot;  except  in  the  case  of  officers  of  instruction  or 
government  appointed  for  not  more  than  one  year. 

Sect.  12.  —  Names  of  candidates  for  honorary  degrees 
shall  be  referred  to  a  Committee  of  the  Board  appointed 
by  the  President,  to  report  recommendation.  A  name  not 
recommended  by  this  Committee  shall  not  be  voted  upon 
by  the  Board  unless  a  vote  is  requested  by  seven  members 
of  the  Board. 

Sect.  13.  —  No  nomination  of  a  member  of  the  Corpora- 
tion or  of  a  permanent  Professor  shall  be  ratified  by  the 
Board  except  at  a  meeting  or  adjournment  held  on  seven 
days'  notice;  nor  shall  any  such  nomination  be  finally  acted 
on  at  the  meeting  or  adjournment  at  which  it  shall  have 
been  made. 

Sect.  14.  —  All  Committees  shall  be  nominated  by  the 
presiding  officer,  excepting  in  those  cases  where  it  may  be 


RULES    AND    BY-LAWS  7 

otherwise   determined    by   the   Overseers;   and   the   person 
first  named  shall  be  chairman. 

Sect.  15.  —  When  any  member  shall  require  a  ques- 
tion to  be  determined  by  yeas  and  nays,  the  President  shall 
take  the  sense  of  the  Board  in  that  manner,  provided  that 
one  fourth  part  of  the  members  present  shall  be  in  favor 
of  it. 

Sect.  16.  —  Whenever  a  question  shall  be  taken  by 
yeas  and  nays,  the  Secretary  shall  call  the  names  of  all 
the  members,  except  the  President;  and  no  member  shall 
be  permitted  to  vote  after  the  decision  is  announced  from 
the  chair. 

Sect.  17.  —  No  member  shall  speak  more  than  once 
on  one  question,  to  the  prevention  of  any  other  who  has 
not  spoken,  and  is  desirous  to  speak;  nor  more  than  twice, 
without  leave  of  the  Board. 

Sect.  18.  —  When  two  or  more  members  rise  at  once, 
the  President  shall  name  the  member  who  is  to  speak  first. 

Sect.  19.  —  Every  member,  when  he  speaks,  shall 
stand  in  his  place,  and  address  the  presiding  officer  as 
"M  .  President/'  and  shall  confine  himself  to  the  question 
under  debate. 

Sect.  20.  —  No  member  speaking  shall  be  interrupted 
by  another,  but  by  rising  to  call  to  order. 

Sect.  21.  —  After  a  question  is  put  to  vote,  no  member 
shall  speak  to  it. 


8  RULES    AND    BY-LAWS 

Sect.  22.  —  Every  motion  shall  be  reduced  to  writing  if 
the  President  direct  it;  and  no  member  shall  be  permitted 
to  lay  a  motion  in  writing  on  the  table,  until  he  has  read  it 
in  his  place. 

Sect.  23.  —  A  question  containing  two  or  more  proposi- 
tions capable  of  division  shall  be  divided,  whenever  desired 
by  any  member. 

Sect.  24.  —  If  any  member  shall  rise  to  doubt  a  vote 
upon  its  being  declared  from  the  chair,  the  President  shall 
ascertain  the  number  voting  in  the  affirmative  and  in  the 
negative,  without  any  further  debate.  He  may  vote  on  all 
questions;  but  shall  not  be  required  to  do  to,  unless  the 
Board  shall  be  equally  divided,  or  unless  his  vote,  if  given 
in  the  minority,  would  affect  the  result. 

Sect.  25.  —  When  a  vote  has  passed,  it  shall  be  in  order 
for  any  member  to  move  a  reconsideration  on  the  same 
day;  and,  when  a  motion  for  reconsideration  is  decided, 
that  decision  shall  not  be  reconsidered. 

Sect.  26.  —  The  rules  of  parliamentary  proceeding,  as 
received  and  practised  in  the  Legislature  of  this  Common- 
wealth, shall  govern  the  Board  in  all  cases  to  which  they 
are  applicable,  and  in  which  they  are  not  inconsistent  with 
these  Rules  and  By-Laws. 


RULES   AND    BY-LAWS  9 

COMMITTEES 

Section  27.  —  There  shall  be  the  following  Committees, 
—  the  first  to  consist  wholly  of  ex-officio  members;  the 
others  to  be  appointed  at  the  annual  meeting,  or  at  some 
subsequent  meeting,  in  such  manner  as  the  Board  may 
determine :  — 

1.  A  Committee  to  visit  the  University,  to  consist  of  the 
President  and  Secretary  of  this  Board,  the  Governor  and 
Lieutenant-Governor  of  the  Commonwealth,  the  President 
of  the  Senate,  the  Speaker  of  the  House  of  Representatives, 
the  Secretary  of  the  Board  of  Education,  and  the  Chairman 
of  each  of  the  several  committees  appointed  to  visit  the 
departments  of  the  University.  This  Committee  shall  be 
invited  to  attend  the  annual  Commencement  and  other 
public  exercises  of  the  University,  or  any  of  its  departments, 
and  to  represent  this  Board  and  the  Commonwealth  thereat; 
the  President  of  the  College,  or  some  other  officer  charged 
with  the  duty,  giving  the  members  of  said  Committee  due 
notice  of  such  occasions. 

2.  The  following  Standing  Committees  of  the  Board  of 
Overseers :  — 

(a)  Committee  on  Elections. 

(b)  Committee  on  Reports  and  Resolutions. 

The  Committee  on  Elections  shall  consist  of  five  members 
and  the  Committee  on  Reports  and  Resolutions  of  seven 
members,  all  of  whom  shall  be  elective  members  of  this 
Board.  It  shall  be  the  duty  of  the  Committee  on  Reports 
and  Resolutions  to  receive  the  annual  reports  of  the  several 
committees  after  they  have  been  read  before  this  Board, 
and  consider  and  report  whether  any,  and,  if  any,  what 
action  is  called  for  by  the  same;  and  also  to  attend  to  any 


10  RULES   AND    BY-LAWS 

other  business  that  may  be  referred  to  them  from  time  to 
time  by  this  Board,  and  report  thereon. 

3.  A  Committee  to  visit  the  Divinity  School. 

4.  A  Committee  to  visit  the  Law  School. 

5.  A  Committee  to  visit  the  Medical  and  Dental  Schools, 

6.  A  Committee  to  visit  the  Bussey  Institution. 

7.  A  Committee  to  visit  the  Library. 

8.  A  Committee  to  visit  the  Observatory. 

9.  A  Committee  to  visit  the  Botanic  Garden  and  Botan- 

ical Museum. 

10.  A  Committee  to  visit  the  Gray  Herbarium. 

11.  A  Committee  to  visit  the  Museum  of  Comparative 

Zoology. 

12.  A  Committee  to  visit  the  Peabody  Museum. 

13.  A  Committee  to  visit  the  Germanic  Museum. 

14.  A  Committee  to  visit  the  Arnold  Arboretum. 

15.  A  Committee  to  visit  the  Semitic  Museum  and  Divi- 

sion of  Semitic  Languages  and  History. 

16.  A  Committee  to   visit  the   Fogg  Museum   and  the 

Department  of  Fine  Arts. 

17.  A  Committee  to  visit  the  Lawrence  Scientific  School 

and  the  Graduate  School  of  Applied  Science. 

18.  A  Committee  to  visit  the  Graduate  School  of  Arts 

and  Sciences. 

19.  A  Committee  to  visit  the  Jefferson  Physical  Labora- 

tory and  Department  of  Physics. 

20.  A  Committee  to  visit  the  Chemical  Laboratory. 

21.  A  Committee  to  visit  the  Stillman  Infirmary. 

22.  A  Committee  to  visit  the  Graduate  School  of  Business 

Administration. 

23.  A    Committee    on    Physical    Training    and    Athletic 

Sports. 

24.  A  Committee  on  the  Administration  of  the  University 

Chapel. 

25.  A  Committee  to  examine  the  Treasurer's  Accounts. 


RULES   AND    BY-LAWS  11 

Each  of  the  foregoing  committees  to  visit  schools  or 
departments  shall  consist  of  six  or  more  members,  of  whom 
at  least  one  shall  be  an  elective  member  of  this  Board, 
except  in  the  case  of  the  Committee  on  Treasurer's  Accounts, 
of  which  Committee  not  less  than  three  shall  be  elective 
members  of  this  Board.  Persons  not  members  of  the  Board 
of  Overseers  may  be  appointed  to  serve  on  any  of  the 
visiting  committees. 

26.  A  Committee  to  visit  the  College,  to  consist  of  at 
least  six  members,  of  whom  not  less  than  four  shall  be 
elective  members  of  this  Board.  The  duty  of  this  Com- 
mittee shall  be  to  learn  what  are  the  methods  of  govern- 
ment and  instruction  in  the  College,  and  to  take  such 
measures  as  in  their  judgment  will  best  enable  them  to 
report  in  full  on  the  conditions,  wants,  and  prospects  of 
the  institution. 

27.  A  Committee  on  the  relation  of  the  University  to 
Secondary  Schools,  to  consist  of  nine  members,  of  whom 
three  shall  be  members  of  the  Board  of  Overseers,  three 
members  of  the  Committee  on  Admission  of  the  Faculty 
of  Arts  and  Sciences,  and  three  shall  be  elected  from  among 
the  heads  or  instructors  of  Secondary  Schools. 

In  addition  to  the  foregoing  committees,  there  shall  each 
year  be  such  other  committees  to  visit  and  examine  into 
the  Courses  of  Instruction  as  the  Board  shall  appoint  at 
the  annual  meeting  or  at  some  subsequent  meeting.  Such 
committees  shall  consist  of  not  less  than  three  members, 
and  persons  not  Overseers  may  be  appointed  to  serve 
upon  them. 

The  members  of  all  committees  shall  be  notified  of  their 
appointment,  with  a  request  that  they  serve,  by  the  Secre- 
tary of  the  Board,  unless  otherwise  ordered.  When  a 
vacancy  occurs  in  a  committee,  the  chairman  shall  imme- 
diately notify  the  Secretary  of  the  Board. 


12  RULES   AND    BY-LAWS 

Sect.  28.  —  The  several  Visiting  Committees  of  the 
Departments  of  the  University  and  those  appointed  to 
visit  and  examine  into  the  Courses  of  Instruction,  may 
employ  paid  experts  or  specialists  to  aid  them  in  the  per- 
formance of  their  duties  when  authorized  so  to  do  by  a 
vote  of  the  Board  of  Overseers.  Any  Committee  desiring 
such  expert  assistance  shall  first  submit  for  approval  a 
written  application  to  the  Board,  setting  forth  the  nature 
and  estimated  cost  thereof. 

Sect.  29.  —  The  several  Visiting  Committees  shall  re- 
port in  writing  at  least  once  in  three  years,  and  their  reports 
when  presented  shall  at  once  be  referred  to  the  Committee 
on  Reports  and  Resolutions,  unless  the  member  presenting 
any  report  shall  desire  to  read  the  same  before  the  Board, 
in  which  case  the  report  after  such  reading  and  any  discus- 
sion shall  be.  referred  as  above,  unless  otherwise  ordered. 
Each  Committee  shall  hold  early  in  the  academic  year  at 
least  one  meeting  with  all  the  Professors  and  Assistant 
Professors  in  the  Department  or  Course  of  Instruction  such 
Committee  is  appointed  to  visit,  in  order  to  receive  sugges- 
tions, inquire  into  defects  and  needs,  hear  complaints,  and 
give  encouragement  and  counsel. 

Sect.  30.  —  The  apparatus,  libraries,  and  scientific 
collections  belonging  to  the  several  departments  of  the 
University  shall  be  examined  and  reported  on  by  the  Com- 
mittees appointed  to  visit  said  departments  respectively. 


RULES   AND    BY-LAWS  13 

Sect.  31.  —  After  the  report  of  the  Committee  on  Reports 
and  Resolutions  is  received  and  acted  upon  by  this  Board, 
the  reports  of  the  Visiting  Committees  shall  annually  be 
printed  in  a  volume  for  the  use  of  this  Board  and  of  the 
officers  of  instruction  of  the  University.  A  certified  copy 
of  the  record  of  the  action  of  the  Committee  on  Reports 
and  Resolutions,  with  the  printed  volume  of  Reports  on 
which  it  is  founded,  shall  be  referred  to  the  Corporation. 

ELECTIONS 

Section  32.  —  The  election  of  Overseers  on  Commence- 
ment Day  in  each  year  shall  be  held  in  some  suitable  room 
within  the  College  Yard,  in  Cambridge;  notice  of  the  time 
and  place  of  which,  and  of  the  hours  during  which  the  polls 
will  be  kept  open,  and  of  the  number  of  Overseers  to  be 
elected,  shall  be  given  by  the  President  and  Secretary,  by 
publication  in  two  newspapers  printed  in  the  city  of 
Boston,  the  first  publication  to  be  two  weeks  before  the 
day  of  election. 

Sect.  33.  —  At  some  meeting  before  each  election,  there 
shall  be  appointed  by  the  Board,  upon  nomination  by  the 
President,  one  principal  and  two  or  more  assistant  inspectors 
of  polls,  who,  before  entering  upon  their  duties,  shall  be 
sworn  to  the  faithful  discharge  thereof. 

Sect.  34.  —  The  President  and  Secretary  shall  issue  a 
warrant  under  their  hands  to  the  persons  appointed  inspec- 
tors of  polls;  specifying  the  number  of  Overseers  to  be 
elected,  and  the  terms  for  which  they  are  to  be  chosen,  and 


14  RULES    AND   BY-LAWS 

directing  said  inspectors  to  conduct  the  election  in  manner 
and  form  as  the  law  provides,  with  such  other  instructions 
as  to  their  duties  as  may  be  deemed  proper;  and  shall  fur- 
nish said  inspectors  with  a  record  book  and  a  complete  list 
of  the  persons  qualified  to  vote,  to  be  used  as  a  check-list. 

Sect.  35. — The  inspectors  shall  carefully  preserve  all 
the  ballots  cast,  and  after  making  their  record  thereof, 
shall  cause  the  same  to  be  sealed  up  in  an  envelope,  which 
shall  be  indorsed  with  a  certificate,  under  their  hands,  that 
the  same  contains  all  the  ballots  cast  at  the  election  for  the 
officers  therein  specified,  and  none  other.  Immediately 
after  the  election,  they  shall  deliver  such  envelope,  so  sealed 
and  indorsed,  with  said  record  book,  upon  which  they  shall 
have  entered  their  records,  and  said  check-list,  to  the  Secre- 
tary of  the  Board. 

Sect.  36.  —  The  Secretary  shall  forthwith  notify  the 
persons  who  appear  by  the  records  of  the  inspectors  to  be 
elected;  and  such  persons  shall  be  entitled  to  their  seats 
as  members,  except  as  provided  in  the  following  section, 
and  subject  to  the  decision  of  the  Board  upon  their  right 
to  hold  the  same. 

Sect.  37.  —  When  a  person  is  elected  to  fill  a  vacancy, 
he  shall  not  be  entitled  to  hold  his  seat  until  the  Board 
shall  have  decided  his  right  thereto,  if  the  person  in  whose 
place  he  was  elected  appears  and  claims  the  same. 

Sect.  38.  —  The  records  and  papers  of  the  inspectors  of 
polls  shall  be  laid  before  the  Board  at  the  next  assembling 


RULES   AND    BY-LAWS  15 

thereof  after  the  election,  and  the  same  shall  be  referred  to 
the  Committee  on  Elections  for  their  examination  and 
report;  but  they  need  not  examine  the  ballots  returned, 
unless  specially  directed  so  to  do  by  the  Board. 

ALTERATION  AND   SUSPENSION   OF   RULES 

Section  39.  —  Any  rule  or  by-law  may  be  altered  or 
repealed  by  a  vote  of  two  thirds  of  the  members  present 
and  voting,  at  a  meeting  held  at  least  seven  days  after  a 
meeting  at  which  the  alteration  or  repeal  is  proposed;  and 
the  notice  for  such  meeting  shall  state  that  it  is  proposed 
to  change  the  rules  and  by-laws.  Any  rule  or  by-law  may 
be  suspended  by  a  vote  of  two  thirds  of  the  members  present 
and  voting,  except  any  rule  requiring  a  decision  to  be  by 
ballot,  which  shall  only  be  suspended  by  the  unanimous 
consent  of  the  members  present;  and  except  the  rule  in 
relation  to  the  meeting  and  time  at  which  the  nomination 
of  a  member  of  the  Corporation,  or  of  a  permanent  pro- 
fessor, may  be  ratified  or  finally  acted  upon  by  the  Board, 
which  shall  never  be  suspended. 


RULES 


OF   THE 


BOAED    OF    OVERSEERS 

ADOPTED  DECEMBER  2,  1891 


UPON   REQUEST    OF   THE    ASSOCIATION    OF   THE    ALUMNI, 
ESTABLISHING    THE 


AUSTRALIAN    BALLOT 


AND  PRESCRIBING  THE  FORM  THEREOF,  AND  THE  METHOD  OF  MAKING 

NOMINATIONS  FOR  THE 


ELECTION  OF  OVERSEERS 


NOMINATION    OF   OVERSEERS  —  AUSTRALIAN 

BALLOT 

Nominations  of  candidates  for  election  as  Overseers,  to  a 
number  double  the  number  of  vacancies  to  be  filled,  may 
be  made  by  the  Association  of  the  Alumni  in  such  manner 
as  the  Association  shall  prescribe.  Nominations  of  one  or 
more  candidates  may  also  be  made  by  the  alumni  of  the 
College  of  five  years'  standing,  by  certificate  signed  by  not 
less  than  one  hundred  of  such  alumni.  All  nominations 
shall  be  addressed  to  the  Secretary  of  the  Board  of  Over- 
seers and  filed  at  the  office  of  the  Board  ten  days  at  least 
prior  to  Commencement  Day. 

In  case  there  shall  be  a  failure  so  to  file  nominations  to  a 
number  double  the  number  of  Overseers  to  be  elected,  the 
committee  hereinafter  provided  for  may  cause  to  be  made 
such  number  of  nominations  as  they  shall  deem  expedient. 

The  names  of  all  the  candidates  so  nominated,  who  are 
eligible  for  election,  shall  be  printed  on  an  official  ballot. 
There  shall  be  added,  upon  the  ballot,  to  the  name  of  each 
candidate,  his  residence,  the  year  of  his  graduation  at 
Harvard  College,  if  he  is  a  graduate  of  the  College,  or  if  a 
graduate  of  one  of  the  professional  schools  of  Harvard 
University  and  not  of  the  College,  the  name  of  the  School 
and  the  year  of  his  graduation;  or,  if  a  graduate  of  another 


20  AUSTRALIAN   BALLOT 

college,  the  name  of  such  college  and  the  year  of  his  gradu- 
ation ;  and  there  shall  also  be  added  the  years  of  his  previous 
service,  if  any,  on  the  Board  of  Overseers. 

Names  of  Overseers  eligible  for  re-election  shall,  accord- 
ing to  seniority  of  service  upon  the  Board,  and,  when  of 
equal  previous  service  upon  the  Board,  according  to  years 
of  graduation  in  the  College,  be  placed  at  the  head  of  the 
list  of  candidates  upon  the  ballot.  Names  of  other  candi- 
dates who  are  graduates  of  the  College  or  of  the  profes- 
sional schools  shall  follow  in  the  order  of  their  graduation. 
When  two  or  more  candidates  are  of  the  same  year,  their 
names  shall  be  put  in  alphabetical  order.  Names  of  candi- 
dates who  are  not  graduates  of  Harvard  College  or  of  its 
professional  schools  shall  be  placed  after  those  of  Harvard 
graduates  in  alphabetical  order. 

There  shall  be  left  at  the  end  of  the  list  of  candidates  as 
many  blank  spaces  as  there  are  Overseers  to  be  elected, 
in  which  spaces  the  voter  may  write  or  insert  the  name  of 
any  person,  not  printed  on  the  ballot,  for  whom  he  desires 
to  vote. 

A  square  of  sufficient  size  to  contain  a  cross  mark  [X] 
shall  be  printed  on  the  right  of  the  line  containing  the  name 
of  each  candidate,  and  at  the  right  of  each  blank  space 
provided  for  the  writing  or  insertion  of  other  names  to  be 
voted  for.  There  shall  be  a  statement  upon  the  face  of 
the  ballot  of  the  number  of  Overseers  to  be  elected,  and 
for  what  terms  they  are  to  be  elected;  and  such  further 
information  or  instruction  to  the  voter  as  may  be  judged 


AUSTRALIAN   BALLOT  21 

necessary;  as,  for  instance,  the  words  "vote  for  not  more 
than  six/'  "mark  a  cross  [X]  in  the  square  at  the  right  of 
the  name  of  each  candidate  for  whom  you  intend  to  vote." 
If  a  candidate  is  nominated,  not  by  the  Association  of 
Alumni,  but  by  a  certificate  signed  by  alumni,  a  statement 
of  such  fact  shall  be  added  to  his  name  upon  the  ballot. 

Upon  the  back  of  the  ballot  shall  be  printed  the  words 
"Official  Ballot  for  Overseers  of  Harvard  College,"  and 
the  date  of  the  election,  with  a  fac-simile  of  the  signature  of 
the  Secretary  of  the  Board  of  Overseers.  The  names  of  all 
the  Overseers  in  service  with  their  respective  terms  of  ser- 
vice shall  also  be  printed  upon  the  back  of  the  ballot. 

Each  elector  qualified  to  vote  for  Overseers  shall,  on 
application  to  the  inspectors  of  polls  at  the  voting  place, 
receive  an  official  ballot.  He  shall  prepare  his  ballot  for 
the  purpose  of  voting  by  marking,  in  the  square  provided 
therefor,  a  cross  [X]  at  the  right  of  the  name  of  each  candi- 
date of  his  choice,  or  by  writing  or  inserting  the  name  of 
any  candidate  not  printed  in  the  official  ballot,  in  the  blank 
space  provided  for  the  purpose,  and  by  marking  a  cross 
[X]  in  the  square  at  the  right  of  the  name  so  written  or 
inserted.  In  offering  his  ballot  for  deposit  in  the  ballot 
box,  he  shall  present  it  for  the  inspection  of  the  inspectors 
of  polls  with  the  official  endorsement  hereinbefore  required 
uppermost. 

None  but  official  ballots  shall  be  received  or  counted. 
Ballots  shall  be  counted  as  cast  only  for  those  candidates 
against  whose  names  crosses  have  been  marked  as  above 


22  AUSTRALIAN    BALLOT 

required,  and  no  regard  shall  be  given  to  marks  made  out- 
side of  the  squares  printed  upon  the  ballots.  If  more 
names  are  duly  marked  in  the  manner  required  than  there 
are  Overseers  to  be  elected,  the  entire  ballot  shall  be  set 
aside  and  not  counted. 

The  inspectors  of  polls  may  furnish  an  official  ballot  to 
an  elector  who  has  already  received  one  or  more  ballots,  in 
place  of  a  ballot  which  has  been  spoiled  or  defaced. 

The  official  ballots  shall  be  furnished  by  the  Board  of 
Overseers,  and  shall  be  prepared  under  the  supervision  of 
a  committee  of  the  Overseers  to  be  appointed  for  the  pur- 
pose, who  shall,  subject  to  the  provisions  of  law,  also  have 
general  supervision  of  the  election.  The  committee  shall, 
as  early  as  possible  after  the  expiration  of  the  time  for  filing 
nominations,  cause  the  list  of  nominations  received  to  be 
printed  in  two  or  more  newspapers  in  Boston,  substantially 
in  the  manner  in  which  they  are  to  appear  upon  the  official 
ballot;  and  they  shall  cause  sample  ballots,  without  the 
fac-simile  endorsement,  together  with  information  as  to 
the  manner  of  making  nominations  and  of  voting,  to  be 
prepared  and  to  be  posted  and  placed  in  the  polling  room 
in  such  numbers  as  they  shall  deem  expedient. 


CHARTER  AND  LAWS 


CHARTER  AND  LAWS 


The  Act  establishing  the  Overseers  of 
Harvard  College. 

At  a  General  Court  held  at  Boston,  on  the  8th  of  September, 

in  the  year  16 42. 

Whereas,  through  the  good  hand  of  God  upon  us, 
there  is  a  College  founded  in  Cambridge,  in  the  County 
of  Middlesex,  called  Harvard  College,  for  the  encour- 
agement whereof  this  Court  has  given  the  sum  of  four 
hundred  pounds,  and  also  the  revenue  of  the  ferry  betwixt 
Charlestown  and  Boston,  and  that  the  well  ordering  and 
managing  of  the  said  College  is  of  great  concernment,  — 

It  is  therefore  ordered  by  this  Court  and  the  authority 
thereof,  that  the  Governor  and  Deputy-Governor  for  the 
time  being,  and  all  the  magistrates  of  this  jurisdiction, 
together  with  the  teaching  elders  of  the  six  next  adjoin- 
ing towns,  —  viz.,  Cambridge,  Watertown,  Charlestown, 
Boston,  Roxbury,  and  Dorchester,  —  and  the  President 
of  the  said  College  for  the  time  being,  shall,  from  time  to 
time,  have  full  power  and  authority  to  make  and  establish 
all  such  orders,  statutes,  and  constitutions  as  they  shall  see 
necessary  for  the  instituting,  guiding,  and  furthering  of  the 
said  College,  and  the  several  members  thereof,  from  time 


26  ACT   ESTABLISHING   BOARD    OF    OVERSEERS 

to  time,  in  piety,  morality,  and  learning;  as  also  to  dispose, 
order,  and  manage,  to  the  use  and  behoof  of  the  said  College 
and  the  members  thereof,  all  gifts,  legacies,  bequeaths, 
revenues,  lands,  and  donations,  as  either  have  been,  are, 
or  shall  be  conferred,  bestowed,  or  in  any  ways  shall  fall 
or  come  to  the  said  College. 

And  whereas  it  may  come  to  pass  that  many  of  the  said 
magistrates  and  elders  may  be  absent,  or  otherwise  employed 
in  other  weighty  affairs,  when  the  College  may  need  their 
present  help  and  counsel,  —  It  is  therefore  ordered,  that 
the  greater  number  of  magistrates  and  elders  which  shall 
be  present,  with  the  President,  shall  have  the  power  of  the 
whole.  Provided,  that  if  any  constitution,  order,  or  orders, 
by  them  made,  shall  be  found  hurtful  unto  the  said  College, 
or  the  members  thereof,  or  to  the  weal  public,  then,  upon 
appeal  of  the  party  or  parties  grieved  unto  the  company 
of  Overseers  first  mentioned,  they  shall  repeal  the  said  order 
or  orders,  if  they  shall  see  cause,  at  their  next  meeting,  or 
stand  accountable  thereof  to  the  next  General  Court. 

[This  act  is  copied  from  "The  General  Laws  of  the  Massachusetts 
Colony,  revised  and  published  by  order  of  the  General  Court  in 
October,  1658";  which  was  the  second  edition  of  the  Laws  of  the 
Colony,  and  was  printed  in  1660.  It  varies  slightly  in  phraseology 
from  the  Act  contained  in  the  Records  of  the  General  Court,  vol.  ii, 
page  24.] 


CHARTER  27 


II 


The  Charter  of  the  President  and  Fellows  of 
Harvard  College,  under  the  seal  of  the  Colony 
of  Massachusetts  Bay,  and  bearing  date  May  31, 
a.d.  1650. 

Whereas,  through  the  good  hand  of  God,  many  well- 
devoted  persons  have  been,  and  daily  are,  moved  and  stirred 
up  to  give  and  bestow  sundry  gifts,  legacies,  lands,  and 
revenues,  for  the  advancement  of  all  good  literature,  arts, 
and  sciences,  in  Harvard  College,  in  Cambridge,  in 
the  County  of  Middlesex,  and  to  the  maintenance  of  the 
President  and  Fellows,  and  for  all  accommodations  of 
buildings,  and  all  other  necessary  provisions  that  may 
conduce  to  the  education  of  the  English  and  Indian  youth 
of  this  country  in  knowledge  and  godliness,  — 

It  is  therefore  ordered  and  enacted  by  this  Court  and 
the  authority  thereof,  that  for  the  furthering  of  so  good 
a  work,  and  for  the  purposes  aforesaid,  from  henceforth 
that  the  said  College  in  Cambridge,  in  Middlesex,  in  New 
England,  shall  be  a  Corporation,  consisting  of  seven  per- 
sons, to  wit:  a  President,  five  Fellows  and  a  Treasurer  or 
Bursar;  and  that  Henry  Dunster  shall  be  the  first  Presi- 
dent, Samuel  Mather,  Samuel  Danforth,  Masters  of 
Art,  Jonathan  Mitchell,  Comfort  Starr,  and  Samuel 
Eaton,  Bachelors  of  Art,  shall  be  the  five  Fellows,  and 
Thomas  Danforth  to  be  present  Treasurer,  all  of  them 
being  inhabitants  in  the  Bay,  and  shall  be  the  first  seven 
persons  of  which  the  said   Corporation  shall  consist;  and 


28  CHARTER 

that  the  said  seven  persons,  or  the  greater  number  of  them, 
procuring  the  presence  of  the  Overseers  of  the  College,  and 
by  their  counsel  and  consent,  shall  have  power,  and  are 
hereby  authorized,  at  any  time  or  times,  to  elect  a  new 
President,  Fellows,  or  Treasurer,  so  oft,  and  from  time  to 
time,  as  any  of  the  said  person  or  persons  shall  die  or  be 
removed;  which  said  President  and  Fellows  for  the  time 
being  shall  forever  hereafter,  in  name  and  fact,  be  one 
body  politic  and  corporate  in  law,  to  all  intents  and  pur- 
poses, and  shall  have  perpetual  succession,  and  shall  be 
called  by  the  name  of  President  and  Fellows  of  Harvard 
College,  and  shall  from  time  to  time  be  eligible  as  aforesaid; 
and,  by  that  name,  they  and  their  successors  shall  and  may 
purchase  and  acquire  to  themselves,  or  take  and  receive 
upon  free  gift  and  donation,  any  lands,  tenements,  or  here- 
ditaments, within  this  jurisdiction  of  the  Massachusetts,  not 
exceeding  the  value  of  five  hundred  pounds  per  annum,  and 
any  goods  and  sums  of  money  whatsoever  to  the  use  and 
behoof  of  the  said  President,  Fellows,  and  scholars  of  the 
said  College;  and  also  may  sue  and  plead,  or  be  sued  and 
impleaded,  by  the  name  aforesaid,  in  all  courts  and  places 
of  judicature  within  the  jurisdiction  aforesaid. 

And  that  the  said  President,  with  any  three  of  the 
Fellows,  shall  have  power,  and  are  hereby  authorized, 
when  they  shall  think  fit,  to  make  and  appoint  a  common 
seal  for  the  use  of  the  said  Corporation.  And  the  President 
and  Fellows,  or  the  major  part  of  them,  from  time  to  time, 
may  meet  and  choose  such  officers  and  servants  for  the 


CHARTER  29 

College,  and  make  such  allowance  to  them,  and  them  also 
to  remove,  and,  after  death  or  removal,  to  choose  such 
others,  and  to  make  from  time  to  time  such  orders  and  by- 
laws, for  the  better  ordering  and  carrying  on  the  work  of 
the  College,  as  they  shall  think  fit;  'provided  the  said  orders 
be  allowed  by  the  Overseers.  And  also  that  the  President 
and  Fellows,  or  major  part  of  them,  with  the  Treasurer, 
shall  have  power  to  make  conclusive  bargains  for  lands 
and  tenements,  to  be  purchased  by  the  said  Corporation 
for  valuable  considerations. 

And,  for  the  better  ordering  of  the  government  of  the 
said  College  and  Corporation,  —  Be  it  enacted  by  the 
authority  aforesaid,  that  the  President  and  three  more  of 
the  Fellows  shall  and  may  from  time  to  time,  upon  due 
warning  or  notice  given  by  the  President  to  the  rest,  hold 
a  meeting  for  the  debating  and  concluding  of  affairs  con- 
cerning the  profits  and  revenues  of  any  lands,  and  dispos- 
ing of  their  goods  (provided  that  all  the  said  disposings  be 
according  to  the  will  of  the  donors),  and  for  direction  in 
all  emergent  occasions,  execution  of  all  orders  and  by-laws, 
and  for  the  procuring  of  a  general  meeting  of  all  the  Over- 
seers and  Society  in  great  and  difficult  cases,  and  in  cases 
of  non-agreement;  in  all  which  cases  aforesaid,  the  con- 
clusion shall  be  made  by  the  major  part,  the  said  President 
having  a  casting  voice,  the  Overseers  consenting  thereunto. 
And  that  all  the  aforesaid  transactions  shall  tend  to  and 
for  the  use  and  behoof  of  the  President,  Fellows,  scholars, 
and  officers  of  the  said  College,  and  for  all  accommodations 


CHARTER 

of  buildings,  books,  and  all  other  necessary  provisions  and 
furnitures  as  may  be  for  the  advancement  and  education 
of  youth  in  all  manner  of  good  literature,  arts,  and  sciences. 

And,  further,  be  it  ordered  by  this  Court  and  the 
authority  thereof,  that  all  the  lands,  tenements,  or  here- 
ditaments, houses,  or  revenues,  within  this  jurisdiction, 
to  the  aforesaid  President  or  College  appertaining,  not 
exceeding  the  value  of  five  hundred  pounds  per  annum, 
shall  from  henceforth  be  freed  from  all  civil  impositions, 
taxes,  and  rates;  all  goods  to  the  said  Corporation,  or 
to  any  scholars  thereof,  appertaining,  shall  be  exempt  from 
all  manner  of  toll,  customs,  and  excise,  whatsoever;  and 
that  the  said  President,  Fellows,  and  scholars,  together 
with  the  servants,  and  other  necessary  officers  to  the  said 
President  or  College  appertaining,  not  exceeding  ten,  — 
viz.,  three  to  the  President  and  seven  to  the  College  belong- 
ing, —  shall  be  exempted  from  all  personal  civil  offices, 
military  exercises  or  services,  watchings  and  wardings;  and 
such  of  their  estates,  not  exceeding  one  hundred  pounds  a 
man,  shall  be  free  from  all  country  taxes  or  rates  whatso- 
ever, and  none  others. 

In  witness  whereof,  the  Court  hath  caused  the  seal  of 
the   Colony  to   be  hereunto   affixed.     Dated   the   one   and 
thirtieth  day  of  the  third  month,  called  May,  anno  1650. 
[l.  s.]  Tho:  Dudley,  Governor. 

[The  above  is  a  copy  of  the  original  Charter  engrossed  on  parch- 
ment, signed  by  Gov.  Dudley,  with  the  Colony  seal  appendant,  in 
the  custody  of  the  President  and  Fellows  of  Harvard  College.  The 
Charter,  varying  slightly  in  phraseology,  is  also  contained  in  the 
Records  of  the  General  Court,  vol.  iv,  page  10.] 


APPENDIX  31 


III 


An  Appendix  to  the  College  Charter,  granted  by  an 
Act  of  the  General  Court  of  the  Colony,  passed 
a.d.  1657. 

At  a  General  Court  held  at  Boston,  the  14th  of  October,  1657. 

In  answer  to  certain  proposals  presented  to  this  Court 
by  the  Overseers  of  Harvard  College,  as  an  appendix 
to  the  College  Charter,  it  is  ordered,  — 

The  Corporation  shall  have  power,  from  time  to  time, 
to  make  such  orders  and  by-laws,  for  the  better  ordering 
and  carrying-on  of  the  work  of  the  College,  as  they  shall 
see  cause,  without  dependence  upon  the  consent  of  the 
Overseers  foregoing.  Provided  always,  that  the  Corpora- 
tion shall  be  responsible  unto,  and  those  orders  and  by-laws 
shall  be  alterable  by,  the  Overseers,  according  to  their 
discretion. 

And  when  the  Corporation  shall  hold  a  meeting,  and 
agreeing  with  College  servants,  for  making  of  orders  and 
by-laws,  for  debating  and  concluding  of  affairs  concern- 
ing the  profits  and  revenues  of  any  lands  or  gifts,  and  the 
disposing  thereof  (provided  that  all  the  said  disposals  be 
according  to  the  will  of  the  donors),  for  managing  of  all 
emergent  occasions,  for  the  procuring  of  a  general  meeting 
of  the  Overseers  and  Society  in  great  and  difficult  cases, 
and  in  cases  of  non-agreement,  and  for  all  other  College 
affairs  to  them  pertaining,  —  in  all  these  cases  the  conclu- 
sion shall  be  valid,  being  made  by  the  major  part  of  the 


32  APPENDIX 

Corporation,  the  President  having  a  casting  vote.  Provided 
always,  that,  in  these  things  also,  they  be  responsible  to  the 
Overseers  as  aforesaid. 

And  in  case  the  Corporation  shall  see  cause  to  call  a 
meeting  of  the  Overseers,  or  the  Overseers  shall  think 
good  to  meet  of  themselves,  it  shall  be  sufficient  unto  the 
validity  of  College  acts,  that  notice  be  given  to  the  Over- 
seers in  the  six  towns  mentioned  in  the  printed  law,  anno 
1642,  when  the  rest  of  the  Overseers,  by  reason  of  the 
remoteness  of  their  habitations,  cannot  conveniently  be 
acquainted  therewith. 

[This  Act  is  taken  from  the  Records  of  the  General  Court,  vol. 
iv,  page  265.] 


CONFIRMATION   OF   CHARTER  33 

IV 

Extract  from  a  Resolve  of  the  Provincial  General 
Court,  passed  a.d.  1707,  declaring  the  College 
Charter  of  1650  not  repealed,  and  directing  the 
President  and  Fellows  of  the  College  to  exercise 
the  Power  granted  by  it. 

At  a  Great  and  General  Court  for  her  Majesty's  Province  of  the 
Massachusetts  Bay,  begun  and  held  at  Boston  upon  the  28th  of 
May,  1707,  and  continued  by  several  prorogations  unto  the  29th 
of  October  following,  being  the  third  session. 

IN   COUNCIL 

Thursday,  Dec.  4,  1707. 

And  inasmuch  as  the  first  foundation  and  establishment 

of  that  House  [Harvard  College,  in  Cambridge],  and  the 

government  thereof,  had  its  original  from  an  act  of   the 

General  Court,  made  and  passed  in  the  year  1650,  which 

has    not    been    repealed    or    nulled,  —  the    President    and 

Fellows   of   the   said    College   are   directed,    from    time   to 

time,  to  regulate  themselves  according  to  the  rules    of    the 

Constitution  by  the  said  Act  prescribed,  and  to  exercise  the 

powers  and  authorities  thereby  granted  for  the  government 

of  that  House,  and  the  support  thereof. 

Saturday,  Dec.  6,  1707. 
The  Representatives  returned  the  Vote  passed  in  Coun- 
cil, the  4th  current,  referring  to   the   College,   with   their 
concurrence  thereunto. 

By  his  Excellency  the  Governor,  consented  to, 

Joseph  Dudley. 

[This  Resolve  is  taken  from  the  Records  of  the  General  Court, 
vol.  viii,  page  344.] 


34  PROVISIONS    OF   THE   CONSTITUTION 


V 

The  Articles  of  the  Constitution  of  the  Common- 
wealth of  Massachusetts,  confirming  and  securing 
to  Harvard  College  the  perpetual  Possession  and 
Enjoyment  of  all  its  Estates,  Rights,  Powers,  and 
Privileges. 

CHAPTER  V 

Sect.  I.  —  The  University 

Article  1. — Whereas  our  wise  and  pious  ancestors, 
so  early  as  the  year  one  thousand  six  hundred  and  thirty- 
six,  laid  the  foundation  of  Harvard  College,  in  which 
University  many  persons  of  great  eminence  have,  by  the 
blessing  of  God,  been  initiated  in  those  arts  and  sciences 
which  qualified  them  for  public  employments  both  in 
Church  and  State;  and  whereas  the  encouragement  of 
arts  and  sciences  and  all  good  literature  tends  to  the 
honor  of  God,  the  advantage  of  the  Christian  religion, 
and  the  great  benefit  of  this  and  the  other  United  States 
of  America,  —  It  is  declared  that  the  President  and 
Fellows  of  Harvard  College  in  their  corporate  capacity, 
and  their  successors  in  that  capacity,  their  officers  and 
servants,  shall  have,  hold,  use,  exercise,  and  enjoy  all 
the  powers,  authorities,  rights,  liberties,  privileges,  im- 
munities, and  franchises  which  they  now  have,  or  are 
entitled  to  have,  hold,  use,  exercise,  and  enjoy;  and  the 
same  are  hereby  ratified  and  confirmed  unto  them,  the 
said   President   and   Fellows   of   Harvard   College,   and   to 


PROVISIONS    OF   THE   CONSTITUTION  35 

their  successors,  and  to  their  officers  and  servants  respec- 
tively, forever. 

Art.  2.  —  And  whereas  there  have  been  at  sundry  times, 
by  divers  persons,  gifts,  grants,  devises  of  houses,  lands, 
tenements,  goods,  chattels,  legacies,  and  conveyances, 
heretofore  made  either  to  Harvard  College,  in  Cambridge, 
in  New  England,  or  to  the  President  and  Fellows  of  Harvard 
College,  or  to  the  said  College  by  some  other  description, 
under  several  charters  successively,  —  It  is  declared  that 
all  the  said  gifts,  grants,  devises,  legacies,  and  conveyances 
are  hereby  forever  confirmed  unto  the  President  and  Fellows 
of  Harvard  College,  and  to  their  successors  in  the  capacity 
aforesaid,  according  to  the  true  intent  and  meaning  of  the 
donor  or  donors,  grantor  or  grantors,  devisor  or  devisors. 

Art.  3.  —  And  whereas,  by  an  Act  of  the  General  Court 
of  the  Colony  of  Massachusetts  Bay,  passed  in  the  year 
one  thousand  six  hundred  and  forty-two,  the  Governor 
and  Deputy-Governor  for  the  time  being,  and  all  the  magis- 
trates of  that  jurisdiction,  were  with  the  President,  and  a 
number  of  the  clergy  in  the  said  Act  described,  constituted 
the  Overseers  of  Harvard  College;  and  it  being  necessary, 
in  this  new  constitution  of  government,  to  ascertain  who 
shall  be  deemed  successors  to  the  said  Governor,  Deputy 
Governor,  and  magistrates,  —  It  is  declared  that  the  Gov- 
ernor, Lieutenant-Governor,  Council,  and  Senate  of  this 
Commonwealth  are  and  shall  be  deemed  their  successors; 
who  with  the  President  of  Harvard   College  for  the  time 


36  PROVISIONS   OF   THE   CONSTITUTION 

being,  together  with  the  ministers  of  the  Congregational 
churches  in  the  towns  of  Cambridge,  Watertown,  Charles- 
town,  Boston,  Roxbury,  and  Dorchester,  mentioned  in  the 
said  Act,  shall  be,  and  hereby  are,  vested  with  all  the  powers 
and  authority  belonging  or  in  any  way  appertaining  to  the 
Overseers  of  Harvard  College.  Provided,  that  nothing 
herein  shall  be  construed  to  prevent  the  Legislature  of 
this  Commonwealth  from  making  such  alterations  in  the 
government  of  the  said  University  as  shall  be  conducive 
to  its  advantage,  and  the  interest  of  the  republic  of  letters, 
in  as  full  a  manner  as  might  have  been  done  by  the  Legis- 
lature of  the  late  Province  of  the  Massachusetts  Bay. 


BOARD    OF   OVERSEERS  37 


VI 

An  Act  to  alter  and  amend  the  Constitution  of  the 
Board  of  Overseers  of  Harvard  College. 

Whereas  the  members  of  the  Board  of  Overseers  of 
Harvard  College,  as  heretofore  constituted,  cannot  con- 
veniently nor  constantly  attend  to  the  diligent  discharge 
of  the  duties  enjoined  on  it :  — 

Section  1.  —  The  Governor,  Lieutenant-Governor, 
Counsellors,  President  of  the  Senate,  and  Speaker  of  the 
House  of  Representatives  of  the  Commonwealth,  and  the 
President  of  Harvard  College  for  the  time  being,  with 
fifteen  ministers  of  Congregational  churches  and  fifteen 
laymen  all  inhabitants  within  the  State,  to  be  elected  as 
is  hereafter  mentioned,  shall  forever  hereafter  constitute 
the  Board  of  Overseers  of  Harvard  College;  they,  or  the 
major  part  of  them  present  at  any  legal  meeting,  to  exercise 
and  enjoy  all  the  rights,  powers,  and  privileges,  and  to  be 
subject  to  all  the  duties,  of  the  existing  Board  of  Overseers 
of  Harvard  College.  Provided,  however,  that  all  the  minis- 
ters of  Congregational  churches  who  are  members  of  that 
Board  shall  remain  members  of  the  Board  of  Overseers 
established  by  this  Act,  so  long  as  they  shall  continue  minis- 
ters respectively  of  their  Congregational  churches,  and  no 
longer. 


38  BOARD    OF   OVERSEERS 

[Sect.  2.  —  As  soon  as  conveniently  may  be  after  this  Act  shall 
be  in  force,  the  present  Secretary  of  the  Board  of  Overseers,  or,  if 
that  office  be  vacant,  the  President  or  a  major  part  of  the  Fellows 
of  Harvard  College,  shall  cal  a  meeting  of  the  Overseers  of  Harvard 
College,  to  be  holden  at  some  suitable  time  and  place,  for  electing 
fifteen  laymen,  inhabitants  of  the  State,  to  be  members  of  the 
Board  of  Overseers;  the  said  meeting  to  be  notified  by  publishing 
the  time  and  place  of  holding  the  same,  in  each  of  the  public  news- 
papers printed  in  Boston,  ten  days  at  the  least  before  the  time  of 
holding  the  same;  and  the  said  elections  to  be  made  by  ballot, 
by  the  major  part  of  the  Overseers  present;  and  all  persons  who 
then,  if  this  Act  had  not  been  in  force,  would  have  been  members 
of  the  Board  of  Overseers  of  Harvard  College,  shall  have  right 
to  meet  and  vote  in  the  said  elections.] 

Sect.  3.  —  The  Board  of  Overseers,  as  constituted  by 
this  Act,  may,  at  any  legal  meeting,  choose  by  a  majority 
of  votes  a  Secretary,  when  that  office  shall  be  vacant,  who 
shall  be  under  oath  truly  to  record  all  the  votes  and  pro- 
ceedings of  the  Board,  and  faithfully  to  discharge  all  the 
duties  of  his  office;  and  the  said  Board  may  at  any  legal 
meeting,  by  a  majority  of  votes,  determine  from  time  to 
time  when  and  in  what  manner  its  meetings  shall  be  held, 

called  and  notified:  [and,  at  any  legal  meeting  of  the  said 
Board,  the  Governor,  if  present,  shall  preside;  if  not,  the  Lieu- 
tenant-Governor, if  present,  shall  preside;  in  their  absence,  the 
oldest  member  of  the  Council  present  shall  preside:  if  they  also 
be  absent,  the  President  of  the  Senate  shall  preside,  if  present; 
but  in  his  absence  also,  the  Speaker  of  the  House  of  Representa- 
tives shall  preside;  and  if  neither  of  them  be  present,  the  greater 
part  of  the  Overseers  present  at  such  meeting  shall  chose  a  presi- 
dent pro  tempore,  and  until  one  of  the  officers  aforesaid  shall  be 
present.]      Provided,  nevertheless,  that  the   Secretary  of  the 

Overseers  shall  have  power  to  call  a  meeting  of  the  said 


BOARD    OF   OVERSEERS  39 

Board,  at  such  times  as  he  shall  be  thereto  requested  by  the 
President  and  Fellows  of  Harvard  College;  such  meeting  to 
be  notified  as  the  said  Board  shall  direct. 

Sect.  4.  —  [When  any  minister  of  any  Congregational  church, 
being  a  member  of  the  said  Board,  shall  cease  to  have  the  ministerial 
relation  he  now  has,  or  may  have  had  at  the  time  of  his  election,  or,] 

when  any  member  of  the  elective  part  of  the  said  Board 

shall  remove  out  of  the  State,  the  place  of  such  [minister  or] 

member    shall    thereupon   become   vacant.     And    the    said 

Board  may  at  any  legal  meeting,  by  a  vote  of  the  greater 

number  present,   remove  from  his   place   any  member  of 

the  elective  part  of  the  said  Board  who  shall  neglect  to 

attend    the    meetings    thereof,    without    reasonable    excuse, 

when  duly  notified,  or  who  by  his  immoral  conduct  shall 

have  rendered  himself  unworthy  of  holding  his  place;  but, 

before  any  vote  shall  pass  to  remove  any  member,  he  shall 

have  reasonable  notice,  and  a  fit  opportunity  to  be  heard 

in  his  defence. 

[Sect.  5.  —  For  establishing  a  perpetual  succession  in  the 
elective  part  of  the  said  Board,  whenever  a  vacancy  shall  happen 
therein,  by  death,  resignation,  or  otherwise,  the  Overseers  may, 
at  a  legal  meeting,  by  a  majority  of  the  votes  present,  fill  up  such 
vacancy  by  electing  therefor  some  suitable  person,  who  shall  be 
an  inhabitant  of  the  State.  Provided,  however,  that  no  minister 
of  any  Congregational  church  shall  be  so  elected  when  there  are 
fifteen  ministers  of  Congregational  churches  members  of  the 
elective  part  of  the  said  Board,  nor  shall  any  laymen  be  so  elected 
when  there  are  fifteen  laymen  members  of  the  elective  part  of  the 
said  Board;  but,  in  all  cases  when  there  are  fifteen  ministers  and 
fifteen  laymen  members  of  the  elective  part  of  the  said  Board, 
there  shall  not  be  deemed  to  be  any  vacancy  therein.] 


40  BOARD    OF   OVERSEERS 

Sect.  6.  —  This  Act  shall  be  in  force  when  the  Over- 
seers of  Harvard  College,  as  heretofore  constituted,  and 
the  President  and  Fellows  of  Harvard  College,  shall  agree 
to  accept  the  provisions  in  this  Act  contained. 

[March  6,  1810.] 

[The  provisions  of  this  Act  were  accepted  by  the  President  and 
Fellows  on  the  16th  of  March,  1810;  and  by  the  Overseers,  on  the 
12th  of  April  in  the  same  year.] 


BOARD    OF    OVERSEERS  41 


VII 

An  Act  to  repeal  an  Act  entitled  "An  Act  to  alter 
and  amend  the  constitution  of  the  overseers 
of  Harvard  College/'  and  to  regulate  certain 
Meetings  of  that  Board. 

[Section  1. — An  Act  made  and  passed  the  seventh  day  of 
March,  in  the  year  of  our  Lord  one  thousand  eight  hundred  and 
ten,  entitled  "An  Act  to  alter  and  amend  the  Constitution  of 
the  Board  of  Overseers  of  Harvard  College,"  be,  and  the  same 
is  hereby,  repealed;  and  the  Board  of  Overseers,  from  and  after 
the  passing  of  this  Act,  shall  be  constituted  in  the  same  way  and 
manner,  and  be  composed  of  the  same  persons,  and  no  others, 
that  it  would  have  been  had  the  same  Act  never  been  made  or 
passed. 

[Sect.  2.  —  There  shall  be  a  meeting  of  the  Board  of  Overseers 
of  Harvard  College,  as  the  same  will  be  constituted  after  the  pass- 
ing of  this  Act,  on  the  second  Wednesday  of  the  first  session  of 
the  General  Court  annually,  in  the  Senate  Chamber,  at  three 
o'clock  in  the  afternoon  (unless  otherwise  ordered  by  the  said 
Board  of  Overseers),  if  the  General  Court  shall  remain  so  long  in 
session,  and  at  such  other  times  and  places  as  the  said  Board 
shall  order;  at  which  annual  meeting  it  shall  be  the  duty  of  the 
Secretary  of  said  Board,  at  the  first  meeting  thereof,  to  lay  before 
them  the  records  and  proceedings  of  the  Corporation  of  Harvard 
College,  and  of  the  said  Board  of  Overseers,  which  have  been  had 
since  the  passing  of  the  Act  aforesaid,  which  is  hereby  repealed; 
and,  in  like  manner,  all  the  proceedings  which  may  have  been 
had  by  said  Corporation,  and  Board  of  Overseers,  shall  be  laid 
before  them  at  their  next  succeeding  meeting,  to  be  held  agree- 
ably to  the  provisions  of  this  Act.]  [Feb.  29,  1812.] 

[This  Act  was  not  assented  to  by  the  Overseers,  or  by  the 
President  and  Fellows;  but  its  validity  was  denied  by  both 
Boards,  and  it  was  repealed  by  the  Act  on  the  next  page.] 


42  BOARD    OF    OVERSEERS 


VIII 

An  Act  to  restore  the  Board  of  Overseers  of  Harvard 
College,  and  to  make  an  addition  thereto. 

Section  1.  —  An  Act  made  and  passed  on  the  twenty- 
eighth  day  of  February,  in  the  year  of  our  Lord  one 
thousand  eight  hundred  and  twelve,  entitled  "An  Act 
to  repeal  an  Act  entitled  'An  Act  to  alter  and  amend 
the  Constitution  of  the  Board  of  Overseers  of  Harvard 
College/  and  to  regulate  certain  meetings  of  the  Board," 
be,  and  the  same  is  hereby,  repealed. 

[Sect.  2.  —  The  Senate  of  this  Commonwealth  shall  be,  and 
they  hereby  are,  added  to  the  Board  of  Overseers  constituted  by 
an  Act  made  and  passed  on  the  fifth  day  of  March,  in  the  year  of 
our  Lord  one  thousand  eight  hundred  and  ten,  entitled  "An  Act 
to  alter  and  amend  the  Constitution  of  the  Board  of  Overseers 
of  Harvard  College,"  and  shall,  together  with  the  persons  men- 
tioned in  the  said  last-mentioned  Act,  hereafter  constitute  the 
Board  of  Overseers  of  Harvard  College;  they,  or  the  major  part 
of  them  present  at  any  legal  meeting,  to  exercise  and  enjoy  all 
the  rights,  powers,  and  privileges,  and  to  be  subject  to  all  the 
duties,  of  the  Board  of  Overseers  constituted  under  the  said 
last-mentioned  Act.] 

Sect.  3.  —  This  Act  shall  be  in  force  when  the  Over- 
seers of  Harvard  College,  constituted  by  the  last-mentioned 
Act,  and  the  President  and  Fellows  of  Harvard  College, 
shall  agree  to  accept  the  provisions  of  this  Act. 

[Feb.  28,  1814.] 

[The  provisions  of  this  Act  were  accepted  by  the  President 
and  Fellows  on  the  10th  of  March,  1814;  and  by  the  Overseers, 
on  the  17th  of  the  same  month.] 


BOARD    OF    OVERSEERS  43 


IX 

An  Act  in  addition  to  "An  Act  to  alter  and  amend 
the  Constitution  op  the  Board  of  Overseers  of 
Harvard  College." 

[Section  1.  —  Whenever  any  vacancy  exists  in  the  clerical 
part  of  the  Board  of  Overseers  of  Harvard  College,  the  Board, 
in  filling  such  vacancy,  agreeably  to  the  provisions  of  the  statute 
of  one  thousand  eight  hundred  and  nine,  chapter  one  hundred 
and  fourteenth,  may  elect  any  stated  minister  of  a  church  of 
Christ,  ordained  agreeably  to  the  usages  of  the  order  to  which 
he  may  belong.  Provided,  that  when  any  minister  so  elected 
shall  cease  to  have  the  ministerial  relation  he  had  at  the  time  of 
his  election,  or  shall  remove  out  of  the  Commonwealth,  the  place 
of  such  minister  at  said  Board  shall  thereupon  become  vacant. 

[Sect.  2.  —  This  Act  shall  be  in  force  when  the  Overseers  of 
Harvard  College,  and  the  President  and  Fellows  of  Harvard  Col- 
lege shall  accept  the  provisions  of  the  same.]      [March  28th,  1834.] 

[The  provisions  of  this  Act  were  accepted  by  the  Overseers  on 
the  16th  of  February,  1843;  and  by  the  President  and  Fellows,  on 
the  25th  of  the  same  month.] 

X 

An  Act  to  change  the   Organization  of  the  Board  of 
Overseers  of  the  University  at  Cambridge. 

[Section  1. — The  Board  of  Overseers  of  Harvard  College,  as 
constituted  by  existing  laws,  shall  continue  until  the  day  of  the 
next  annual  meeting  of  the  General  Court,  and  no  longer.] 

Sect.  2.  —  [The  Governor,  Lieutenant-Governor,  President  of 
the  Senate,  and  Speaker  of  the  House  of  Representatives  of  the 
Commonwealth,  the  Secretary  of  the  Board  of  Education,  and]  the 


44  BOARD    OF    OVERSEERS 

President  and  Treasurer  of  Harvard  College,  for  the  time 
being,  together  with  thirty  other  persons,  as  hereinafter 
defined  and  described,  and  no  others,  shall  [on  and  after  the 
day  of  the  next  annual  meeting  of  the  General  Court]  constitute 
the  Board  of  Overseers  of  Harvard  College;  they,  or  the 
major  part  of  them  present  at  any  legal  meeting,  to  exercise 
and  enjoy  all  the  rights,  powers,  and  privileges,  and  to  be 
subject  to  all  the  duties,  of  the  existing  Board  of  Overseers. 

[Sect.  3.  —  The  thirty  persons,  who,  in  addition  to  the  ex-officio 
members  thereof,  now  constitute  the  Board  of  Overseers,  shall  be 
divided  into  three  classes  of  ten  each,  by  lot  or  otherwise,  as  they 
themselves  may  determine;  and  the  persons  of  the  first  class  shall 
go  out  of  office  on  the  day  of  the  next  annual  meeting  of  the  General 
Court,  and  their  places  be  supplied  by  joint  ballot  of  the  Senators 
and  Representatives  of  the  Commonwealth,  assembled  in  one 
room;  and  the  persons  of  the  second  class  shall  go  out  of  office 
on  the  day  of  the  annual  meeting  of  the  General  Court,  which 
will  be  in  the  year  one  thousand  eight  hundred  and  fifty-three, 
and  their  places  be  supplied  in  like  manner  by  joint  ballot  of  the 
Senators  and  Representatives;  and  the  persons  of  the  third  class 
shall  go  out  of  office  on  the  day  of  the  annual  meeting  of  the 
General  Court,  which  will  be  in  the  year  one  thousand  eight  hun- 
dred and  fifty-four,  and  their  places  be  supplied  in  like  manner 
by  joint  ballot  of  the  Senators  and  Representatives.  Provided, 
that  the  persons  of  each  of  the  said  outgoing  classes  shall  con- 
tinue in  office  for  two  months  after  the  day  of  the  said  annual 
meeting  of  the  General  Court,  unless  their  successors  shall  have 
been  sooner  chosen  by  the  Senators  and  Representatives.] 

Sect.   4.  —  [When  the  Board   of   Overseers   shall  have  been 
wholly  renewed  in  the  manner  prescribed  in  the  foregoing  section,] 

the  members  thereof  shall  be  divided  into  six  equal  classes 

[by  subdivision  of  the  previous  classes  into  two  each,  according  to 
lot  or  otherwise,  as  the  Board  may  determine,  and  having  regard 


BOARD    OF   OVERSEERS  45 

to  seniority  of  service  among  the  said  previous  classes  in  arranging 
the  order  of  precedence  of  the  new  series] ;  and  the  said  six  classes 

shall  [thereafter]  go  out  of  office  in  rotation,  and  in  order  of 

precedence  as  thus  defined,  one  at  each  successive  annual 

[meeting  of  the  General  Court,  and  their  places  be  supplied  by 
joint  ballot  of  the  Senators  and  Representatives].  (Commence- 
ment.*) 

[Sect.  5.  —  Any  vacancy  occurring  in  the  said  Board  of  Over- 
seers, whether  by  death,  resignation,  removal  from  the  Common- 
wealth, or  otherwise,  shall  be  filled  by  joint  ballot  of  the  Senators 
and  Representatives,  as  hereinbefore  provided;  and  if  the  General 
Court  shall  omit  to  fill,  within  three  months  from  the  day  of  its 
annual  meeting  as  aforesaid,  any  existing  vacancy,  then  such 
vacancy  may  be  filled  by  the  remaining  Overseers;  but  the  person 
so  elected  to  fill  any  vacancy,  whether  by  Senators  and  Represen- 
tatives or  by  the  Overseers,  shall  be  deemed  a  member  of,  and  go 
out  of  office  with,  the  class  to  which  his  predecessor  belonged.] 

[Sect.  6.  —  The  Governor,  if  present,  shall  preside  at  any 
legal  meeting  of  said  Board  of  Overseers;  if  not,  the  Lieutenant- 
Governor;  in  their  absence,  the  President  of  the  Senate;  in  his 
absence,  the  Speaker  of  the  House  of  Representatives;  but  if 
neither  of  the  persons  named  be  present,  then  the  meeting  shall 
elect  a  president  pro  tempore;]  and  the  said  Board  may  choose 

by  majority  of  votes  a  Secretary,  when  that  office  shall  be 
vacant,  who  shall  be  under  oath  truly  to  record  the  votes 
and  proceedings  of  the  Board,  and  faithfully  to  discharge  all 
the  duties  of  his  office,  and  the  said  Board  may  make, 
establish,  and  alter  such  rules  of  proceeding,  and  other  by- 
laws, as  they  shall  deem  meet,  provided  that  the  same  be 
not  inconsistent  with  the  constitution  and  laws  of  the  Com- 
monwealth. 

*  By  Act  of  1865,  see  page  48. 


46  BOARD    OF   OVERSEERS 

Sect.  7.  —  [No  member  of  the  General  Court  which  elects  shall 
be  eligible  to  a  place  in  the  said  Board  of  Overseers ;  and]  no  per- 
son shall  be  re-eligible  for  more  than  one  term  immediately 
succeeding  that  for  which  he  shall  have  been  first  elected. 

Sect.  8.  —  This  Act  shall  be  in  force  when  the  Board 
of  Overseers  as  heretofore  constituted,  and  the  President 
and  Fellows  of  Harvard  College,  respectively,  at  meetings 
held  for  that  purpose  during  the  present  session  of  the 
General  Court,  shall  by  vote  have  assented  to  the  same; 
'provided,  that  nothing  contained  herein  shall  be  deemed 
to  prejudice  any  constitutional  powers  which  may  be  pos- 
sessed by  the  General  Court. 

Sect.  9.  —  All  Acts,  or  parts  of  Acts,  inconsistent 
herewith  are  repealed.  [May  22,  1851.] 

[This  Act  was  assented  to  by  the  President  and  Fellows  on  the 
22d  of  May,  1851 ;  and  by  the  Overseers  on  the  same  day.] 


BOARD    OF   OVERSEERS  47 


XI 

An  Act  explanatory  of  the  Acts  relating  to  the 
organization  of  the  board  of  overseers  of  the 
University  at  Cambridge. 

Section  1 .  —  The  several  Acts  relating  to  the  organi- 
zation of  the  Board  of  Overseers  of  Harvard  College  shall 
be  so  construed  as  to  empower  the  Board  to  order  and 
provide,  by  rule  or  by-law,  what  number  of  the  members 
thereof,  not  less  than  nine,  shall  constitute  a  quorum  or 
legal  meeting  of  the  same. 

Sect.  2.  —  This  Act  shall  take  effect  from  and  after 
its  passage.  [March  3,  1852.] 

XII 

An  Act  in  addition  to  the  Act  to  change  the  Organi- 
zation of  the  Board  of  Overseers  of  the  University 
at  Cambridge. 

[Section  1.  —  All  elections  to  fill  vacancies  in  the  Board  of 
Overseers  of  Harvard  College  shall  hereafter  be  by  concurrent 
vote  of  the  two  branches  of  the  General  Court. 

Sect.  2.  —  The  members  of  said  Board  of  each  of  the  outgoing 
classes  shall  continue  in  office  for  two  months  after  the  day  of 
the  annual  meeting  of  the  General  Court,  notwithstanding  that 
their  successors  may  have  been  sooner  chosen. 

Sect.  3.  —  This  Act  shall  be  in  force  when  the  Board  of 
Overseers  and  the  President  and  Fellows  of  Harvard  College, 
respectively,  at  meetings  held  for  that  purpose,  prior  to  the  first 
day  of  February  next,  shall  by  vote  have  assented  to  the  same; 


48  BOARD   OF   OVERSEERS 

provided,  that  nothing  herein  contained  shall  be  deemed  to  preju- 
dice any  constitutional  powers  which  may  be  possessed  by  the 
General  Court.]  [April  6,  1859.] 

[This  Act  was  assented  to  by  the  Overseers  on  the  26th  of 
January,  1860;  and  by"  the  President  and  Fellows  on  the  28th  of 
the  same  month.] 

XIII 

An  Act  in  relation  to  the    Board    of  Overseers   of 

Harvard  College. 

Section  1.  — The  places  of  the  successive  classes  in  the 
Board  of  Overseers  of  Harvard  College,  and  the  vacancies 
in  such  classes,  shall  hereafter  be  annually  supplied  by 
ballot  of  such  persons  as  have  received  from  the  College 
a  degree  of  bachelor  of  arts,  or  master  of  arts,  or  any 
honorary  degree,  voting  on  Commencement  Day  in  the 
city  of  Cambridge;  such  election  to  be  first  held  in  the  year 
eighteen  hundred  and  sixty-six;  provided,  however,  that  no 
member  of  the  Corporation,  and  no  officer  of  government 
or  instruction  in  said  College,  shall  be  eligible  as  an  Over- 
seer, or  entitled  to  vote  in  the  election  of  Overseers;  and 
provided,  further,  that  no  person  who  has  received  from  said 
College  the  degree  of  bachelor  of  arts  shall  be  entitled  to 
vote  for  Overseers  before  the  fifth  annual  election  after 
the  graduation  of  his  class. 

Sect.  2.  —  The  Board  of  Overseers  shall  annually 
appoint  one  principal  and  two  or  more  assistant  inspectors 
of  polls,  who  shall,  on  Commencement  Day,  from  the 
hour  of  ten  in  the  forenoon  to  the  hour  of  four  in   the 


BOARD    OF   OVERSEERS  49 

afternoon,  at  some  place  in  said  city  of  Cambridge,  fixed 
by  said  Board,  receive  the  votes  for  Overseers,  and  they 
shall  sort  and  count  such  votes,  and  make  public  declara- 
tion thereof,  after  the  closing  of  the  polls;  and  said 
inspectors  shall  be  provided  with  a  complete  list  of  the 
persons  qualified  to  vote  at  such  election,  and  no  person 
shall  vote  until  the  inspectors  find  and  check  his  name 
upon  such  list.  The  names  of  the  persons  voted  for, 
the  number  of  votes  received  for  each  person,  and  the 
vacancy  or  place  in  said  Board  for  which  he  is  proposed, 
shall  be  entered  in  words  at  length,  by  said  inspectors, 
upon  a  record  kept  by  them  for  that  purpose,  which 
shall,  after  such  election,  be  forthwith  made  up,  signed, 
and  delivered  by  them  to  the  Board  of  Overseers.  The 
persons  who  shall  receive  the  highest  number  of  votes  for 
the  places  or  vacancies  in  said  Board  shall,  to  the  number 
of  Overseers  to  be  elected,  be  deemed  and  shall  be  declared 
by  said  Board,  elected  to  be  members  thereof. 

Sect.  3.  —  The  Board  of  Overseers  shall  give  notice  of 
the  place  of  the  polls,  the  hours  during  which  they  are  open, 
and  the  number  of  Overseers  to  be  elected,  by  publishing 
the  same  at  least  ten  days  before  Commencement  Day  in 
some  newspaper  printed  in  the  city  of  Boston. 

Sect.  4.  —  The  terms  of  office  of  the  existing  classes  of 
Overseers  are  extended  to  the  close  of  Commencement  Day 
of  the  year  in  which  such  terms  severally  expire;  the  terms 
of  office  of  the  classes  hereafter  elected  shall  successively 


50  BOARD   OF   OVERSEERS 

expire  at  the  close  of  Commencement  Day  each  year  in 
their  order;  and  the  persons  elected  Overseers  on  any 
Commencement  Day  shall  supply  the  places  of  the  class  of 
Overseers  which  goes  out  of  office  at  the  close  of  that  day, 
and  the  vacancies  then  existing  in  said  Board. 

Sect.  5.  —  Whenever  there  shall  be  a  failure  on  Com- 
mencement Day  to  supply  any  places  or  vacancies  in  the 
Board  of  Overseers,  the  same  may  be  filled  by  vote  of  the 
remaining  Overseers;  and  any  persons  elected  to  fill  a 
vacancy  shall  be  deemed  to  be  a  member  of,  and  to  go  out 
of  office  with,  the  class  to  which  his  predecessor  belonged. 

Sect.  6.  —  The  Governor,  Lieutenant-Governor,  Pres- 
ident of  the  Senate,  Speaker  of  the  House  of  Representa- 
tives, and  Secretary  of  the  Board  of  Education,  shall  not 
be  ex-officio  members  of  the  Board  of  Overseers  of  Harvard 
College  after  this  Act  shall  be  in  force. 

Sect.  7.  —  This  Act  shall  be  in  force  when  the  Board 
of  Overseers  and  the  President  and  Fellows  of  Harvard 
College,  respectively,  at  meetings  held  for  that  purpose, 
shall  by  vote  have  assented  to  the  same. 

Sect.  8.  —  This  Act  shall  not  be  construed  as  in  the 
nature  of  a  contract  or  a  charter,  but  may  at  any  time  be 
repealed  at  the  pleasure  of  the  Legislature. 

[April  28,  1865.] 

[This  Act  was  assented  to  by  the  Overseers  on  the  21st  of  Sep- 
tember, 1865;  and  by  the  President  and  Fellows,  on  the  15th  of 
December  of  the  same  year.] 


BOARD    OF   OVERSEERS  51 


XIV 

An  Act  to  provide  for  the  Eligibility  of  Persons 
not  Inhabitants  of  this  Commonwealth  as  Over- 
seers of  Harvard  College. 

Section  1. — Persons  not  inhabitants  of  this  Common- 
wealth and  otherwise  qualified  shall  be  eligible  as  Over- 
seers of  Harvard  College. 

Sect.  2.  —  This  Act  shall  take  effect  on  its  acceptance 
by  the  President  and  Fellows  and  by  the  Board  of  Over- 
seers of  Harvard  College,  respectively,  at  meetings  held 
for  that  purpose.  [March  5,  1880.] 

[This  Act  was  accepted  by  the  President  and  Fellows  on  May 
31,  1880;  and  by  the  Overseers  on  June  2,  1880.] 

XV 

An  Act  to  amend  chapter  one  hundred  and  seventy- 
three  of  the  Acts  of  the  year  eighteen  hundred 
and  sixty-five  in  relation  to  the  board  of  over- 
SEERS of  Harvard  College. 

Be  it  enacted,  etc.,  as  follows: 

Section  1 .  —  Section  two  of  chapter  one  hundred  and 
seventy-three  of  the  Acts  of  the  year  eighteen  hundred  and 
sixty-five  is  amended  by  striking  out  all  of  said  section 
after  the  word  "list"  in  the  eleventh  line  thereof,  and  by 
inserting  in  place  thereof  the  following:  The  names  of  the 
persons  voted  for,  and  the  number  of  votes  received  for 


52  BOARD    OF   OVERSEERS 

each  person,  shall  be  entered  in  words  at  length  by  said 
inspectors  upon  a  record  kept  by  them  for  that  purpose, 
which  shall,  after  such  election,  be  forthwith  made  up,  signed 
and  delivered  by  them  to  the  Board  of  Overseers.  The 
persons  who  shall  receive  the  highest  number  of  votes  for 
the  places  in  said  Board,  shall  to  the  number  of  Overseers 
to  be  elected,  be  deemed  and  declared  by  said  Board  to  be 
elected  members  thereof  for  the  following  terms,  to  wit: 
the  five  persons  receiving  the  highest  number  of  votes  shall 
be  declared  elected  to  the  class  having  the  longest  term, 
and  in  case  any  vacancy  or  vacancies  exist  in  any  other 
class  or  classes,  the  persons  voted  for  shall  be  declared 
elected  to  such  vacancy  or  vacancies  according  to  the  num- 
ber of  votes  received  by  them,  the  person  or  persons  receiv- 
ing the  next  highest  number  of  votes  being  declared  elected 
to  the  class  having  the  next  longest  term  to  run,  and  so  on 
in  order  for  other  vacancies.  In  case  by  reason  of  a  tie 
it  shall  be  uncertain  to  which  class  any  persons  should  be 
declared  elected,  the  Board  of  Overseers  shall  by  vote 
determine  to  which  classes  the  persons  receiving  the  same 
number  of  votes  shall  be  assigned. 

Sect.  2.  —  This  Act  shall  take  effect  upon  its  passage. 

[Approved  March  19,  1889.] 


board  of  overseers  53 

An  Act  relative  to  the  Board  op  Overseers  op 

Harvard  College. 

Be  it  enacted,  etc.,  as  follows: 

Section  1. — The  President  and  Fellows  of  Harvard 
College  and  the  Board  of  Overseers  of  said  College,  act- 
ing separately  at  meetings  called  for  that  purpose,  may, 
after  the  expiration  of  three  years  from  the  date  of  the 
acceptance  of  this  act,  as  provided  for  in  section  two,  deter- 
mine from  time  to  time  by  concurrent  vote  whether  any, 
and,  if  any,  what  degrees  issued  by  said  College  other  than 
those  mentioned  in  the  first  section  of  chapter  one  hundred 
and  seventy-three  of  the  Acts  of  the  year  eighteen  hundred 
and  sixty-five,  shall  entitle  the  recipients  thereof  to  vote 
for  Overseers  to  the  same  extent  and  under  the  same  restric- 
tions to  and  under  which  recipients  of  the  degree  of  bachelor 
of  arts  from  said  College  may  now  so  vote. 

Sect.  2.  —  This  Act  shall  take  effect  when  the  Board 
of  Overseers  and  the  President  and  Fellows  of  Harvard 
College,  respectively,  at  meetings  held  for  that  purpose, 
shall  by  vote  assent  to  the  same. 

[Approved  March  27,  1902.] 

[This  Act  was  assented  to  by  the  President  and  Fellows  on 
September  23,  1902,  and  by  the  Overseers  on  October  15,  1902.] 


54  board  of  overseers 

Extension  of  the  Right  to  Vote  for  Overseers. 

Acting  under  the  authority  conferred  by  the  Act  of  1902, 
the  Board  of  Overseers  on  April  10,  1907,  and  the  President 
and  Fellows  on  April  29,  1907,  adopted  the  following  vote:  — 

That  this  Board  hereby  determines  that  the  degrees 
conferred  by  the  Governing  Boards  of  the  University,  upon 
the  recommendation  of  the  Faculty  of  Arts  and  Sciences, 
upon  the  graduates  of  the  Lawrence  Scientific  School,  of 
the  Graduate  School  of  Arts  and  Sciences,  and  of  the 
Graduate  School  of  Applied  Science,  and  the  degree  of 
Bachelor  of  Science  conferred  after  residence  in  Harvard 
College,  shall  entitle  the  recipients  thereof  to  vote  for  Over- 
seers to  the  same  extent  and  under  the  same  restrictions  to 
and  under  which  recipients  of  the  degree  of  Bachelor  of 
Arts  of  said  College  may  now  so  vote. 


INDEX 


INDEX 


({  It 


PAGE 

Adjourned  Meetings 4 

Amendments  to  Rules  and  By-Laws      15 

Annual  Meeting      4 

Australian  Ballot  for  Election  of  Overseers  .........  19-22 

Ballot,  use  of,  at  Meetings 6 

Chairman  of  Committees,  Person  first  named  to  be 7 

College  Charter  (May  31,  1650) 27-30 

Appendix  to  (Oct.  14,  1657) 31,  32 

Confirmation  of  (Dec.  4  and  6,  1707) 33 

Committees,  Composition  and  Duties  of 9-13 

Nomination  of 6, 7 

"           Visiting 9-13 

Consent  of  Overseers  to  Votes  of  Corporation 

Conferring  honorary  degrees 6 

Electing  Lecturer  in  University 6 

Member  of  Corporation 6 

Officer  of  Instruction  or  Government 6 

Permanent  Professor 6 

Seven  days'  notice,  when  required 6 

Constitution  of  Massachusetts,  Provisions  relating  to  Harvard 

College 34-36 

Degrees,  Committee  on  Honorary 6 

Grounds    and    Reasons    for    occasional,    to    be    laid 

before  Overseers  by  Corporation 6 

Honorary,  Conferring  of 6 

When  to  be  received  from  Corporation 5,  6 

Division  of  Question  when  desired  by  Member 8 

Doubting  of  Vote 8 


58  INDEX 

PAGE 

Election  of  Overseers 

Advertisement  of,  in  newspapers 13 

"    Official  ballot  in  newspapers 22 

Australian  ballot  prescribed  for 19-22 

Committee  on  Elections  to  examine  records  of 14, 15 

Extension  of  right  to  vote  for 54 

Inspectors  of  Polls,  appointment  and  duties  of 13,  14 

Overseers  to  be  notified  of  their  Election 14 

Overseers  elected,  when  entitled  to  seat 14 

Statutes  of  Massachusetts  governing  and  relating  to  .    .    .  48-54 

When  and  where  held 13 

Elections,  Committee  on 9 

Establishment  of  Board  of  Overseers.     (Act  of  General  Court, 

Sept.  8,  1642)      25,  26 

Extension  of  Right  to  vote  for  Overseers      .    .    .    . 54 

Honorary  Degrees  (see  Degrees) 
Inspector  of  Polls  (see  Election) 

Meetings,  when  and  where  held 4 

Motions,  when  to  be  reduced  to  writing 8 

Nominations  of  Overseers  by  Association  of  Alumni 19 

"    Certificate  of  100  Alumni      ...  19 

Notice  of  Amendments  to  Rules  and  By-laws 15 

"      "  Meetings 4,5 

"      "  Elections 13 

"      to  Persons  elected  Overseers 14 

"      "  Members  of  Committees 11 

Officers 3 

Official  Ballot  (see  Election  of  Overseers) 

Parliamentary    Procedure    of    Legislature    of    Massachusetts, 

when  to  govern  Overseers 8 

President,  Election  of 3 

"         pro  tempore,  Election  of 3 

"         Right  of,  to  vote 8 

Term  of  Office     . 3 

"         Committees,  when  to  be  nominated  by 6,  7 


INDEX 


59 


Quorum,  Nine  Members  to  constitute 

Reconsideration  of  Votes      

Reports  and  Resolutions,  Committee  on        .... 

Secretary,  Election  of 

pro  tempore,  Election  of 

Term  of  Office 

Speaking  by  Members  regulated      

Special  Meetings 

Stated  Meetings 

Statutes  of  Massachusetts  relating  to  Overseers 

Sept.    8,  1642,  establishing  Board 

March  6,  1810,  amending  Constitution  of  Board 

Feb.  29,  1812, 


u 


u 


It 


a 


a 


u 


a 


a 


Feb.  28,  1814, 
Mar.  28,  1834, 
May  21,  1851, 
March  3,  1852, 
April  6,  1859, 
April  28,  1865,  establishing  present  organization  of  Board, 

and  Elections  by  Alumni 

March  5,  1880,  making  eligible  as  Overseers  persons  not 

inhabitants  of  Massachusetts 

Mar.   19,  1889,  amending  Statute  of  April  28,  1865     .    .    . 

Mar.  27,  1902,  Conferring  on  Corporation  and  Overseers 

power  to  extend  the  right  to  vote  for  Overseers    . 

Suspension  of  Rules  and  By-laws 

Visiting  Committees,  List  and  Duties  of 

Votes  of  Corporation  to  be  presented  by  Attested  Copies .    .    . 
Votes  of  Overseers  to  be  transmitted  to  Corporation  by  Attested 

Copies 

Yeas  and  Nays,  When  and  how  Questions  shall  be  determined  by 


PAGE 

5,47 
8 

9,10 
3 
3 
3 
7 
4 
4 

25,26 

37-40 
41 
42 
43 

43-46 
47 

47,48 

48-50 

51 
51,52 

53 

15 

9-13 

5 

5 

7 


